When you go to sleep for the night, usually you would change into specific clothes for bed, right? Well, does that include your socks? Do you take them off at night? Do you leave them on? Do you put on a new pair before bed? While some studies show that wearing socks to bed can have a potentially positive effect on sleep, is it truly beneficial for you?
According to a survey conducted on the general school population, out of 266 responses, roughly 80.8% of survey respondents answered between “No” and “Usually No” when asked about whether or not they wear socks to bed. Between the remaining 19.2% of respondents, only 9.8% of respondents said “Yes” while the remaining 9.4% said “Usually Yes”.
According to a lot of the comments left on the survey, wearing socks to bed is typically more than a simple yes or no question. A lot of comments left have said that whether or not they wear socks is almost entirely dependent on the weather and how cold it is outside, along with the levels of “coziness” needed that specific night. One respondent even has a specific type of sock they wear to bed, “I have a few very specific pairs of socks that I believe are appropriate to wear to bed. They are usually wool and only worn when it is very, very cold,”. However, this sentiment is not shared, even between people who wear socks to bed.
When interviewing Mr. Teeter on this topic, he gave a unique opinion on wearing socks to bed. When asked his opinion on wearing socks to bed he said “(you) have to. Have to”. When asked about this more, he said that it is necessary to wear socks to bed to keep the feet sweat off of bed sheets, and that he not only wears socks to bed, but enjoys it. He stated that the socks insulate his feet and keep them comfortable throughout the night. When asked on whether the material of the socks makes a difference, he stated that cotton dry fit socks were the most comfortable and that he does not like wearing wool socks to bed, as they are far too hot for wearing to bed. According to him, feet overheating is a non-issue and has not happened to him. When I asked him for final comments and what he has to say to people who don’t wear socks to bed, he simply said “gross”.
As shown previously, there are many different opinions on whether one should or shouldn’t wear socks to bed, and while some centrist would say that ultimately it is up to personal preference, I disagree. When it comes to wearing socks to bed, the negatives outweigh the positives. Whether it is feet sweat, the use of socks being twice what it normally is, or constantly having to change/put on another pair of socks whenever you want to go to bed, wearing socks to bed is simply not worth it. In addition to these drawbacks, the majority of comments left on the survey previously mentioned were not about why they prefer not wearing socks to bed, but rather they said why wearing socks to bed is weird and gross. So ultimately, wearing socks to bed is controversial, so if you choose to wear socks to bed, be careful who you tell.
